September 4, 2013

HEAV’S Virginia Homeschool Update

September 4, 2013

ABOVE THE FOLD

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Preparing For a New School Year

Setting Goals

Curriculum, pencils, paper…check! Even as a new school year begins, it’s not too late to do some thinking, strategizing, and vision-casting to ensure you stay on track this year. Check out Kyndra Steinmann’s blog post here!

Record Keeping

Our friends at Idaho Coaltion of Home Educators have put together this collection of helpful links to make your record keeping simpler during the upcoming school year. There are some great resources here!

Yet another high school hurdle–calculating the GPA for your student’s transcript–can be overcome with these tips.

Homeschool Family Loses Children

The Wunderlichs, a homeschooling family in Germany, needs your support. The police entered their home and removed all four of their children because they were homeschooling. The parents do not know when they will be allowed to have their children back, or where their children are at present. Read more of their story here. What you can do:

Let Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center be your base of operations when you visit Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. Affordable family lodging in hotel-style or cabin-style accommodations or stay in our RV campground. Great options for large families. See our website and book your trip today!

Large Country Home with Farm Business Option

Have you dreamed of moving to a country farm with the option to buy an existing small family business? Homeschool family of 11 selling their large home/farm on 18 acres. Nine wooded/nine open acres. Includes two streams/one pond. Ivor, Virginia.

The Convention MP3 Set is a great way to listen to ALL* the recorded convention workshops. With it, you can experience the benefits of the convention at your own pace, wherever you like! Convention MP3 sets also make GREAT gifts.

Slime, insect etching, and dry-ice action were big hands-on hits at this year’s convention! And now, Science Through the Eyes of a Child (STEC) is offering science programs at Rockwood Nature Center in Chesterfield. Both “Ready, Set… Science,” designed for students in pre-K through grade three, and “Science Through the Seasons,” for grades four through six, engage in captivating hands-on projects and apply academic standards for science. Enrichment classes are also available. Get more information about the classes here; call 804-748-1623, or visit Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation to register.

USE GOODSHOP WHEN BUYING ONLINE

Do you shop online at major retailers such as Amazon, Staples, Home Depot, Kohls, or other major chains? If you click over to these websites through the links on GoodShop, a portion of your purchases will go towards supporting the work of HEAV-all while you pay the same prices you normally would!

It’s easy! No logging in required, and you can easily find stores by searching for a name, choosing from an alphabetical drop-down menu, or browsing by category. Just visit GoodShop, make sure “Home Educators Association of Virginia” is selected as your charity, and begin shopping! Don’t forget to bookmark the page so you can easily visit it whenever you need to shop online.

At Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center, you will love discovering the sights and sounds of the 17th and 18th centuries while learning about our nation’s history. Visit re-creations of a Powhatan Indian village and of James Fort, discover the details of life at Jamestown, and enjoy colonial games. At Yorktown, you can visit the re-created Continental Army encampment and a 1780s’ farm.

This one-day event is filled with hands-on activities, crafts, demonstrations, and fun. Also included in your day is a visit inside “America’s Largest Home.” The theme this year is “Go Green: The Sustainability of Biltmore,” and the activities will include using a Biltmore stick, making tree cookies, learning about erosion, visiting the solar fields, learning how to reduce our carbon footprint, and much more.

Get excited about the art of science, technology, engineering, math, and NASA! Learn about Mars and construct a futuristic Mars outpost, enjoy an “electrifying” science demonstration, learn to take care of your body with “Fueling Potential: Racing to Win” program, and discover how the NASA Educator Resource Center (ERC) can enhance your curriculum.

Homeschool Day at the Virginia State Fair is coming up! Thanks to HEAV’s partnership with the State Fair, you and your family can attend at a discounted price! Enjoy an old-fashioned day at the Virginia State Fair! Free chaperone ticket with the purchase of eight student tickets. Tickets must be ordered through the HEAV office by September 18, 2013.

It can be hard to remember God’s sovereignty and grace when all sorts of little things go wrong (to you!). Of course that is precisely the time that He is in complete control of every detail of our lives. It’s when things go wrong that we are meant to put into practice the theology of God’s grace and sovereignty–and what a great opportunity to demonstrate dependence on Him to our children!

Q. If the superintendent decides the evaluation letter I sent is not acceptable, what might I expect to happen? Now that it is past the August 1 deadline, have I missed the opportunity to do anything else?

2.1 Patriot Day – Nationwide – September 112.2To Kill a Mockingbird and Southern Culture – Onancock – September 282.3 DAR Essay Contests: Middle School and High School – Deadline Is October 312.4 Arts and Crafts Class – Goochland – Register by November 1

Are your children blessed by grandparents who share their ample love and life experience with their grandchildren? Whether your children have grandparents here on Earth to thank, or can borrow some for the occasion from among elder church members or neighbors, make sure the older folks around you know we consider them a blessing–not a burden.

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5) Worth Repeating

“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.”

- Thomas Edison (1847-1931), American inventor.

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Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9 (KJV)

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7) Homeschool Laugh of the Week

Taken from TheOfficial Book of Homeschooling Cartoons (www.familymanweb.com). Reprinted with Permission.